Uncoupling device for railway cars



Feb. 23 1926. 1,573,803

P. B. CAMP UNCOUPLING DEVICE FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed April 12, 1923 In wen donfiercyfi am 2 Patented F eb. 23, 1926.

it UNITED STATES ATEi -ET @FFiU PERCY B. GAME, OF MAY'WOOD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB, T0 UNIVERSAL DRAFT GEAR ATTACHMENT QQMPANY, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

U'NGOUPLING- DEVICE FOR RAILV/AY CARS.

Application filed April 12, 1923. Serial No. 631,640.

To caZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I, PERCY CAMP, citizen of the United States, and resident of Maywood, county of Cook. and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in an Uncoupling Device for Railway Cars, of which the following is v a speeification'and which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof. I

This invention relates to car coupling devices and more particularly to the uncoupling mechanism or devices for lifting the coupling or looking pins of couplers employed for connecting the cars of railway trains and the like. n

One of the objects or the invention is the provision of a new and improved connecting member that is so constructed that it will lowing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a car and a coupler associated therewith showing one embodiment of my invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the device show- 1 ing the parts extended;

Fig. 4; is aview at right angles from that shown in Fig. 3, showing the parts contracted or telcscoped;

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5.5 of Fig. 3; and V Fig. 6 is a perspective of one of the lifting members. L

Referring to the drawings in detail, the numeral 10 designates a car, 11 the dead wood or buffer block secured to the front end thereof, and12 the draw bar associated therewith, all of which is the usual or well known construction. The draw bar 12 is provided with the usual couple 13 that is adapted to be held in operative position by m ans of the coupler or locking pin 14:.

A suitable lifting element for connecting the arm 20 to the pin 1 1 is provided. This element is so constructed that it will permit lateral, longitudinal and vertical movement of the coupler and car relatively to each other, and at the same time permit rotary movement of the uncoupling lever to lift the pin 1 1 to unlock the coupler 13. As shown, this lifting element comprises two coupler members or links 22 and 23 that are slidablyor telescopically connected together. In order that the cost of manufacture may be reduced to a minimum each member may be formed from a wire or rod of a suitable diameter simply by bending the rod to the desired shape or form. Each member comprises a body portion 24 that is formed by bending the one end of the rod back upon itself to form a slot or loop 25, the end of the rod being bent as at 26 to form a closure for the outer end of the slot 25. Each of the, body portions 2st is provided with grooves 27 on each side of the return bend. The grooves 2T are in alignment with the slots 25 so that when the body portions of the coupler members 22 and 23 are interlinked the side members forming the slots 25 of one of the body members will engage the grooves in the other body member to thereby prevent pivotal movement of one member relatively to the other, but at the same time permitting the coupler members 22 and 23 to telescope or slide one upon the other.

The outer ends of the coupler members or links 22 and .13 are bent to form the eyes 28 and 25) respectively. The eyes and 29 are left open so that they may engage in the openings 21 and 15 in the arm 20 and pin 1i.

iVhen a chain with the usual type of links is employed as a lifting element it is necessary hat the links connected to the operating lever and the locking pin be closed in order to prevent their becoming detached by the bumping, jarring and shaking of the car and coupler incident to their travel. In the present device the members 22 and 28 cannot pivot relatively to each other, consequently the attaching eyes 28 and 29 are preferably left open whereby the lifting element may be readily and easily attached to both the lifting arm and the coupler pin 14:, during the assembling of the parts. When the parts are assembled, however, the liftingelement cannot be removed witl out first removing the pin or the lifting lever from its assembled position. When the parts are in assembled relation as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, it is evident that the lifting element will not accidentally become disengaged or be likely to be surreptitiously removed.

It will be observed that the body portions of the two coupler members or links A are exact duplicates of each other, and that the eye members 28 and 29 are arranged in the same plane. The eye members are arranged in the same plane in order to ac commodate apertures in the arm 20 and the pin 14 which in the ordinary construction are arranged with their axes parallel. It is understood however that the members 22 and 23 may be made exact duplicates of each other, and this would be desirable in order to eheapen the manufacturing cost. But in the coupling mechanism as now constructed, the axes of the apertures 21. and 15 in the arm 20 and the coupler pin 14; are parallel to each other, consequently it is necessary that the eyes 28 and 29 be arranged in the same plane. It is understood however that they may be arranged otherwise. I

It is thought from the foregoing taken in connection with the accompanying draw: ings that the construction and operation of ,my device will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and that various changes in size, shape, proportion and details of construction-may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1.A locking pin lifting element, comprising a member having one end bent to form an attaching eye and its other end bent to for-m a'loop, and a second member having one end bent to form an eye and its other end bent to form a loop threaded through the loop of said first named member, the planes of said loops being arranged at an angle to each other and one of said members being provided with means for engaging the other for preventing relative pivotal movement of said members.

2. A locking pin lifting element comprising a rod bent to form an eye at one end and an elongated loop at the other, a second rod having one end bent to form an eye and its other end bent to form an elongated loop interlocking with the first named loop,.the return bend of each loop being provided with recesses at opposite sides thereof for engaging the sides of the other loop to prevent pivotal movement between said loops.

3. A locking pin lifting element comprising two members, each formed from a single rod, said members having duplicate interlinked loop-shaped body portions, one of said members being provided with a groove for engaging the other member for preventing pivotal movement between said sections, and attaching means secured to the outer ends of said members.

4. A locking pin lifting element, compris ing a plurality of comparatively straight body members having elongated slots therein, said members being interlinked whereby one of said members may slide on the other, and being provided with means for preventing pivotal movement of one member relative to the other.

5. A locking pin lifting element, comprising a plurality of body members having elongated slots therein, said members being interlinked, and each body member being provided with grooves at each side thereof for engaging the other member whereby said members are slidably but nonrotatably connected to each other.

6. In combination, a car coupler including a coupler pin provided with an aperture through one end thereof, an uncoupling member including an arm having an aperture through its outer end, the axes of said apertures extending in the same direction, and a lifting element comprising two members having their adjacent ends interlinked and slidably and non-rotatably connectedtogether, said members having their interlinked portions comparatively straight throughout their entire length, the outer ends of said members being provided with open eyes for engaging in said apertures.

PERCY B. CAMP. 

